Vickers limited



G. T. BUCKHAM.

V GUN MOUNTING. APPLICATION men JULY 20. I91) :1 ,303,024. Patented May 6, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

G. T. BUCKHAM;

GUN MOUNTING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20. 1911.

Patented May 6, 1919. Q 2 SHEETS-$HEET 2 m; NnRRIs PETERS w. F'NOYO-LIYNQ. WASNINGKHL o c,

4 S ATES @PAT T QF I THOMAS BUCKHAM, or WESTMINSTER, LONDON, ENGLANEI'ASSIGNOR 'ro I: J, VICKERS-LIMITED, or WESTMINSTER, ENGLAND.

g I To all whom it ma concern:

, Be it known that- I, GEORGE THOMAS BUCKHAM, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residingat 'Vickers House, Broadway, Westminster, in the county of London,

England, have invented certain new and fisefulImprovements in or Relating to Gun: Mountlngs, of which the following is a specification.

-Th1s invention relates to gun mountings of the kind in which the carriage is displaceablevrtic'ally so that by moving the gun about its trunnions' until itassumes a vertil;er..app tqx mate y vertical position, the

I T carriage and the gun can be housed within a cavity or well closed by a suitable cover it plate connected to the carriage.

According to the'present invention the cover-plate is so constructed as to close the cavity or well in a watertight mannerwhen ;the carriage is lowered and is so connected 7 to the carriage that when the latter is in its raised or firing position the said cover plate can he displaced-to enable the gun to be used for high angle fire.

' In order that the said invention may be "clearly understood and readily carriedfinto eifect, the same will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in see- I tion, showing a constructional form of the invention w1th the gun carriage in its raised or firing position.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the gun carriage in its loweredor housed position, and

Fig. 3 is a local section on an enlarged scale. 7

" A is the gun and'A' the carriage in which it is mounted. B is the cavity or well with- "in'which the gun and its carriage can be housed, and G is the aforesaid cover plate mounted on the carriage. A is the telescopic sight which when the gun is depressed assumes the position shown by Fig. 2. It is to be observed that when the carriage occupies its lowered or housed position, the gun is disposed entirely in the well, with its muzzle pointing downward.

Consequently, not only is the gun rendered entirely invisible, but the use of a protect1ve muzzle cap is avoided, together with the necessity of carefully adjusting such cap before the carriage is lowered and of subseeunzrpouivrme'.

Specification of Iletters Patent.

Patented May 6, 1919.

quently removing it after the carriage has been raised, the disposition of the gun in the well in the manner above indicated preventing water from entering the bore of the gun if, from any cause, it penetrates the subsequently described joint between the cover plate andwell. 1

In the example shown the cover plate C has arms which are pivoted at C'- so as to enable the cover plate to be swung relatively to both thegun and the carriage from th-e'positionshown' by full lines into the position shown by chain linesin Fig. 1; in the latter position of the cover plate the gun can be elevated through large I angles for firing at aircraft. The cover; plate is locked to-the carriage in either of its said positions, bya locking pin G a'n'd suitable stops may be provided for limiting the movements of the cover plate which may have handles for enabling it to be readily moved by hand. The cover plate is circular in plan and has on its underside a ring of suitable material for making a watertight joint with a flange B at the upper end of the cavity or well B when the gun and its carriage are in the housed position shown by Fig. 2. The said cavity or well is constituted by a tube or trunk within which is disposed a rod I) having a head I) that bears against the base of the mounting and thereby supports the gun carriage. In contact with a shoulder on this rod is a plate or piston B which is connected to a balance weight B The rod 6 may be raisedto lift the carriage to its firing position, by hydraulic power or otherwise.

Surrounding the base of the mounting is a ring D having two external flanges D", D between which is a circumferential groove adapted toengage with the flange B at the upper end of the well B. The upper flange D comprises an interrupted collar (1' adapted to pass through corresponding gaps in the flange 'B" when the carriage is reaching its raised position. The ring D is then angularly displaced (for example by a tommy bar inserted through one or other of several bosses d, d on the ring) into its locking position and the carriage is then supported by the flange B".

The ring D is rovided with two internal flanges D D {see Fig. 3) of which the former bears against part of the carriage and the flange D against the base of the mounting. The said ring is made in two parts which are bolted together lifter being placed 7 in position,

What I claim zind'dife to seeure' by' Letters Patent of the United States" 1. In a. gun mounting, the combination" with the gun carriage and a well in which said carriage'and the gun are adapted toloe lowered when the gun'has been turned about its trunnions into an approximately Verti cal position, of a cover plate'for closing the 191 1 611 1 of the well in a watertight manner when the carriage and-gun have been lowered completelyi'nto the welhwith the muzzle of the gun 'pointingdownward, and

'means for mounting said cover plate on the 7 carriage: sothat the cover plate can be'di's v placed to enablethe gun to be used for-high angle fire. r

i 7 cal po'sition, of a coveriplztte' for closing the Copies of this petent'maybe obtained for fiire cents'ea ch, addreesin glithe. co ninisipner of rf-et entsl, g I

upper end ofthe'w'ell in a watertightmana nerl when the; egrriage andfgun "have. been lowered ompletely into the'well, with the V i m uzzle'ofthe gun-pointing downward, and

means 7 for; pivotally 'mounting said cover plate on the carriages o that the co er plate o I can be swung into fa; position? to fie ieib'le" the "gun tobe use- 1 forhi ghangle fire. j J

In a gun ting, the combination with the gun carriage and a'wellin whichv V V V said oarriage and the gun areadepoedto be lowered when the gun has heent'urned about its trunnionsinto an approximately vertical position, of a cover" plate for 'clos-j ing the upper end of the well in 'a water V tight manner when thejcarriagejis -lowe'red the-rein, .a-n angularly dlsplaceable member arranged 0115mm mounting ind haying interrupted collar, a rneni'beri-arrangedcon tiguousito the top of thezwell'hnd having gaps through which jsaid collar can pass, "Sftli members being adapted to "cooperate;

when the first mentioned memben is angularlydisplaced, to retain the carriage 'in'its raised or firing position. if

In testimony whereof; I afiix 1n the presence of two wltnesses wimssee o my signature 5o 7 

